Following a delay caused by the initial onset of COVID 19 and after a subsequent revision, Steven Wilson’s sixth album is finally released on 29th January 2021.
THE FUTURE BITES explores ways that the human brain has evolved in the internet era. Where 2017’s Top 3 album TO THE BONE confronted the (then) emerging global issues of post truth and fake news, THE FUTURE BITES places the listener in a world of 21st century addictions. It’s a place where on-going, very public experiments with nascent technology on our lives take place constantly; where clicks and Tiks have become more important that human interaction. THE FUTURE BITES is less a bleak vision of an approaching dystopia and more a curious and playful reading of a world made all the more strange and separated by the events of 2020.
Musically, THE FUTURE BITES positively gleams. Across the album, there’s tracks that deal in gorgeous electronics warped by human intervention (KING GHOST) and soaring acoustics that hit the stratosphere (12 THINGS I FORGOT); a ten minute treatise on the joys of oniomania laid out by Elton John over a Moroder-esque whirlwind (PERSONAL SHOPPER) and a relentless bass-driven Motorik groove that dives right into the murk of clickbait and online radicalisation (FOLLOWER). The album’s new recording, COUNT OF UNEASE, is a beautifully plaintive close to the album that floats out on a mix of piano and ambient sound. Together, the nine tracks form Steven’s most consistently brilliant work to date. THE FUTURE BITES was recorded in London and co-produced by David Kosten (Bat For Lashes, Everything Everything) and Steven Wilson.
Between now and the release of the album THE FUTURE BITES website will crack a door open onto a wonderful world of purchase power, a place where everything is marketable and nothing is too random or too moronic to be considered valuable. Inspired by notable 21st century artefacts like the Virgil Abloh ceramic block or Vitality Air’s canned Canadian oxygen, THE FUTURE BITES website is a fully imagined consumer universe (built in collaboration with Baby and Crystal Spotlight) designed to be accessible and addictive to anyone from the casual fan to the hardcore collector. The site will feature regular drops of limited edition merchandise over the coming months – this could be anything from a slogan shirt to a branded hole punch.
THE FUTURE BITES will be available on all digital platforms. vinyl, cassette, CD and as a limited edition deluxe box set that contains CDs of the album, an instrumental version of the album, bonus material (including 6 additional songs and several reworked versions of album tracks, among them a 19 minute extended mix of PERSONAL SHOPPER), a cassette of demos and a Blu-Ray featuring videos and Steven Wilson’s own 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Atmos versions of the album. THE FUTURE BITES is the first contemporary album to be mixed and released in Dolby Atmos.
Following the release of PERSONAL SHOPPER earlier in the year, a second track from THE FUTURE BITES is out online today. EMINENT SLEAZE is a wholly unethical life lesson strapped to a piece of grimy, low-slung funk, and as much a departure from Steven’s previous records as its immediate predecessor (watch Miles Skarin’s end times video for the track here). A limited edition 12” of EMINENT SLEAZE will be released as part of this year’s Record Store Day. It will be available in participating #RSD20 shops both in person and online as part of this year’s third and final RSD20 drop on October 24th. A limited edition CD single will also be released on the same day, along with a very limited merchandise bundle available for 24 hours only. Both CD and 12” feature exclusive tracks recorded during the album sessions EYEWITNESS and IN FLORAL GREEN.
THE FUTURE BITES track listing:
UNSELF
SELF
KING GHOST
12 THINGS I FORGOT
EMINENT SLEAZE
PERSONAL SHOPPER
MAN OF THE PEOPLE
FOLLOWER
COUNT OF UNEASE
Pre-Order The Future Bites Here
